The seat is designed to cram as many customers as possible onto short-haul flights, so you better start saving up for business class if you don’t want saddle rash at 30,000 feet.

Speaking to LA Times, Airbus spokeswoman Mary Anne Greczyn said: ‘Many, if not most, of these concepts will never be developed but in case the future of commercial aviation makes one of our patents relevant, our work is protected.’